Find yourself in the gutter in a lonely part of town
Where death waits in the darkness with a weapon to cut some stranger down
Sleeping with an empty bottle, he's a sad and an empty hearted man
All he needs is a job, and a little respect, so he can get out while he can

We always need to hear both sides of the story
Both sides of the story

A neighborhood peace is shattered it's the middle of the night
Young faces hide in the shadows
While they watch their mother and father fight
He says she's been unfaithful, she says her love for him has gone
And the brother shrugs to his sister and says
Looks like it's just us from now on'

We always need to hear both sides of the story
We need to hear both sides of the story

And the lights are all on, the world is watching now
People looking for truth, we must not fail them now
Be sure, before we close our eyes
Don't walk away from here
'Til you hear both sides, no no no

Here we are all gathered in what seems to be the centre of the storm
Neighbours once friendly now stand each side of the line that has been drawn
They've been fighting here for years, but now there's killing on the streets
While small coffins are lined up sadly, now united in defeat

Oh, we always need to hear both sides of the story

When the lights are all on, the world is watching now
People looking for truth, we must not fail them now
Be sure, before we close our eyes
Don't walk away from here
'Til you see both sides, no no no no

White man turns the corner, finds himself within a different world
Ghetto kid grabs his shoulder, throws him up against the wall
He says 'would you respect me if I didn't have this gun
'Cause without it, I don't get it, and that's why I carry one'

We always need to hear We always need to hear both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Oh, both sides of the story
Yes both sides of the story
Oh, both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Both sides, both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Both sides of the story, yeah
Both sides of the story
Both sides, both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Both sides of the story
Must hear both sides of the story

7 Comments

General CommentIf you ever get the chance find the CD single version of this song. It has a demo version that replaces the "White man turns the corner.." part with a very telling verse that seems very reminiscent of Phil's life at the time. It's heart wrenching.

General CommentGreat message about how we often fail to realize the experiences of others who we just blow aside and ignore. I think Phil is asking everyone to pause, take a step back, and put ourselves in the shoes of the target of our criticism, racism and hatred. We need to see both sides of the story before we judge.

On a side note, the line: "while small coffins are lined up sadly, now united in defeat" chillingly reminds me of 9/11 and how the country came together after such a defeat at the hands of terrorism. Obviosuly Phil wrote this song long before 9/11 but I thought I would just throw that out there.

My InterpretationHere we are all gathered in what seems to be the centre of the storm
Neighbours once friendly now stand each side of the line that has been drawn
They've been fighting here for years, but now there's killing on the streets
While small coffins are lined up sadly, now united in defeat

These lyrics remind me of the Rwanda Genocide. The Hutu and Tutsi lived with each other but underneath there were inner issues from past history. They believed there were different traits between the two groups but since they lived with each other and intermarried those physical traits were seemingly hard to tell. Any rate the hutu were a majority in the population and the Tutsi were a minority in population numbers. In the past the Tutsi were the aristocratic people while the hutu were basically slaves. In current time after the assassination of the hutu government leader, the hutu called for a mass killing of the Tutsi because they believed that they would enslave them. That's why those lyrics match so well to me.